Along Came a Spider
by Ayrith
Summary: It hadn't seemed real. Not until she watched someone die for her. Not until she was already caught in a pretty cage, playing games with a monster who wanted things she didn't know…and a man who demanded more than she could give...
1. Chapter 1

**Notes: **For my sister.

* * *

**Along Came a Spider**

Chapter 1

* * *

Rheumatism, her grandfather had said. Really?

"I am _not _that old," Kagome grumbled to herself as her feet touched the bottom of the well. There was a moment of suspension and she felt the brief delight of the weightless transfer through time. Then gravity asserted itself and she nearly fell on her butt from the weight of the first aid kit in her hand. Fortunately, the materialized vines along the walls were so close that she didn't have to think about grabbing them. Especially when her mind was still stuck in the present time.

She got the whole illness thing, she really did. She even understood why she couldn't use the same illness as an excuse every week. But when her grandfather started using the dictionary of medical diseases for inspiration, didn't anyone else think it was getting a little too ridiculous? He might as well tell the school she had was in the process of moulting or had grown a club foot.

Kagome sighed. Her life was pretty ridiculous. She looked up reflexively, like she always did, and felt that momentary relief at the sight of the blue sky stretched above her. Telling her teachers she had rheumatism or malaria or whatever other disease her grandfather liked to use was probably no less ridiculous than telling the truth. That instead of sitting in geometry class prepping for high school like a good student should, she was actually traipsing back in time to the feudal era to fight demons. "Yeah, I'm looking for this jewel...well it came from my body...umm...demons want it."

Yeah that would go over well. She was having a hard enough time thinking up excuses for Inuyasha as it was—

Kagome caught herself. No, she really wasn't going to think about Inuyasha right now. She had just spent the last hour trying to not think about him, and that was enough thinking about not consciously thinking of him. She—was confusing herself. Inuyasha was confusing her too, the jerk.

She was not thinking of him.

With that settled, Kagome tackled the torturous task of manoeuvring the heavy first aid kit without crushing herself in the process. There were a few close calls, but eventually she was able to push its deadweight over the lip of the well and drag herself up.

A heat wave seemed to roll over her as she crested the well, making her pant. It was hot, way too hot. Quickly, she scrambled out of the well to the shaded pathway and began her slow trek towards Edo village.

Back in the present, the weather was sunny and hot but in the feudal era it was downright muggy. If not for her skirt, Kagome would have felt more than a little suffocated.

It was times like these that Kagome knew she had made the right decision in wearing her own clothes. Sure it was time consuming and a bit annoying making sure she had the correct mosquito repellent on at all times, but she didn't have to worry about heat stroke like one did wearing a full length kimono. Her middle school outfit also had other benefits as well. For one, people didn't mistake her for someone else. Or, at least they didn't unless they happened to look closely at her face…

_Kikyou._

Kagome paused briefly as she walked the village perimeter, looking up from the tops of her shoes to glance at the crest of the Goshinboku peeking from the top of the forest. Before she had made a quick stop to her time, she had been kept busy all day here in the past, running between huts with Kaede making last minute checks on the recently wounded. However since noon her eyes kept drifting to the tree. Her tree, the tree she had played hide and seek under as a laughing toddler, whose boughs had sheltered her in the summers of her childhood.

Yet here in the past the Goshinboku was younger, stranger. It did not know her. More importantly, it seemed to be the center of so many painful memories, none of them hers.

_Kikyou._

Kagome shook her head and continued down the well-worn path. Just yesterday that name had held little more than a vague familiarity. The name of a dead person she was sometimes confused with and part of a complicated mystery that had brought her to this era. Kaede rarely spoke of her, and Inuyasha not at all. It was obvious there was a painful history there between them about this woman, and three people involved was already complicated. Kagome had figured she would know if it was necessary. Some memories were better left buried.

Too bad the youkai witch from yesterday hadn't agreed.

Kagome clenched the first aid kit to her chest a little more tightly, returning her gaze to her shoes. Her recent trip to the present had been short—mostly because she hadn't planned to even go back for a week or two. She had taken the opportunity to stuff her first aid kit with bandages and ointments that were lying around the house, but it hadn't been necessary. She had spent most of the time padding restlessly through the house, arguing with her grandfather, and finding excuses not the think about a certain fair haired hanyou…

Feeling the burn in her back, Kagome sighed and angled a wrist to wipe the sweat from her brow. Actually, a timely appearance from Inuyasha sounded really good right about now. He didn't offer his help often, but sometimes she could cajole him into taking her load with a bribery of food. Unfortunately, Inuyasha was likely long gone with an ailing Kaede, heading towards the mountains to rescue Kikyou's ashes.

"_It's nothing," he had muttered, eyes askance._

_He wouldn't look at her. It had _hurt _that he wouldn't look at her, in ways she hadn't thought possible. Come on, he was only a guy! One she hadn't even known for very long. As always with Inuyasha, her hurt had turned into anger, and her mouth had just spewed._

"_I know! It's because I look like Kikyou! That's why you don't like me, right?"_

_Watching Inuyasha's expression change had been like watching a car crash into a tree. His eyes had widened, a spasm of pain that made his lips twitch, his fingers curling into a fist. She had felt like she was falling into the pool of his gaze, until she realized that her wrist was in his hand and she _was_ falling towards him. _

"_It's not like that," he had said, the warmth of his hand seeping into her cold one, the amber of his eyes drawing closer with each breath. _

"Stupid jerk," Kagome muttered, fighting the blush in her cheeks even as she scowled at the memory. What wasn't like what? Did he expect her to read his mind? He had never fully explained his relationship to Kikyou, playing it off in the brief moments he did explain as antagonism between hated enemies. Yet the look in his eyes as he held her hand had hinted at the opposite, and had made her curious and dreadful and more than a little exasperated with him.

It was now even clearer why he had been avoiding her gaze this morning, but if he couldn't be honest with himself, he could have at least spared her from feeling guilty! All through the night she had worried he would resent her for the face she resembled.

Not that the realization Kikyou might have been Inuyasha's love did much to make her feel better. Trading the face of his murderer for the face of his dead lover seemed more a step down than a step up. Maybe he did resent her...and the thought made Kagome feel depressed.

That was why when Inuyasha had stood holding Kaede's horse and pointedly not looked at her, she had mumbled a half-baked excuse and hurried to the safety of the other side of the well. She hadn't been able to bear the thought that any comfort she could offer him was tempered by her presence.

Kagome sighed. She was despicable. There was no way she could lie to herself and put all the blame on Inuyasha. He couldn't help what he felt any more than she did. He had been trying to honest with her, in his own way—and she had run away from it.

She should have gone with him.

"Kagome!"

Kagome looked up, blinking to see a ball of fluff streak down the path. Shippou skidded to a stop at her feet, panting a little.

"You're back!" he cried happily, hugging her leg. "I thought stupid Inuyasha had made you mad again, and you weren't going to come back until he apologized."

Kagome smiled brightly at him. Fortunately he wasn't at that age yet where he could tell it was a bit forced. "Sorry Shippou, I didn't mean to worry you. I just had to make a quick trip back to my time to get some more bandages. We've been using a lot today."

"Oh I see," Shippou said, scampering up the back of her skirt and shirt to perch himself on her shoulder. "You're always so thoughtful," he added, rubbing his head against her cheek.

"Oh, don't be silly," she said lightly, feeling her heart sink. Here she was feeling sorry for herself and making up excuses to run away from her problems, when there were people patiently waiting for the help she could provide. And if Kaede was leaving or had already left, they would need her more than ever.

Wait...what if Kaede had not left yet? What if she and Inuyasha were waiting for her at the hut?

The thought made her nearly drop her package. She felt a second of intense panic before she forced herself to be calm. She didn't know, so she would have to ask. Forcing her feet to take another step, she turned hesitantly to Shippou who was entertaining himself by braiding a piece of her hair.

"So," she coughed, her throat like sand paper, "Where exactly is Inuyasha anyway?"

Shippou stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth as he wrestled with a wayward strand of hair. "Oh," he said absently. "Inuyasha and Kaede left a little while ago. Inuyasha had wanted to wait, but Kaede convinced him that it would be better if you stayed here with me anyway."

Kagome's shoulders slumped. "I see." So he had been waiting for her. She wanted to curl under the nearest rock and possible never come out again, with how low she was feeling.

"But," Shippou hesitated, he looked up at her profile with a curious expression. "Inuyasha was acting really strange. He didn't growl or hit me or anything, just sat in his corner and stared out the window for a long time. Afterwards, he told me to tell you to take care of things while he was gone, and then he just...left. Kaede said it was his way of apologizing, but it didn't really look like it."

Kagome frowned slightly. "Well, if he was acting that strange, we better do as he says, huh?"

Shippou snorted. "No way."

Despite herself Kagome laughed, tilting her head against his. "You little squirt! With an attitude like that, no wonder you and him don't get along!" When he preened at her attention, she rolled her eyes. "Well I for one think Inuyasha had a good idea. Without Kaede around, I'll have to pick up the slack. I'm pretty sure Hirotomi's bandages will need to be changed when we get back. They had looked pretty dirty when I left this morning."

As she picked up her pace to a steady trot, she heard Shippou grumble,"It's a lot more fun when you guys are angry at each other."

She had to disagree. She couldn't think of anything less funny.

* * *

"Miss Kagome, I found something!'

Kagome looked up from examining the leaves of a large shrub. Either it was the type of laurel that was good for steeping and administering in a poultice, or it was the kind that purged a stomach of its contents. It was hard to tell the difference sometimes...

One of the village children, Suki, was waving her hand wildly between two tree trunks. Several of the children including Shippou were abandoning their search spots and gathering around the girl. With a sigh, Kagome dropped the leaf—-it was better if she double checked with Kaede anyway—-and turned to her little shadow. Little Toto, who was crouched beside her mimicking her examination of the leaves, looked up at her motion

"What do you think your sister's found?" she asked. Toto cocked his head to the side, then favoured her with a wide toothy smile. As always, her heart melted into a puddle.

"You need to speak sometime you know," she admonished with a smile, then took his hand. "All right, let's go see what has got Suki excited."

It had taken several months before the village had accepted her presence, but it hadn't taken the village children long to see her as a potential playmate. Many of the children were hardly four or five years old and starved for attention. Stuck at the priestess Kaede's home while their parents toiled the fields, they had latched on to Kagome with ease. After that, the villagers had become far more friendly...and had stopped treating her like a walking memorial.

Until yesterday, anyway.

Kagome sighed sharply. Only a few hours before, she and Shippou had run into the priestess's abode only to find an unexpected visitor on its doorstep. The headsman of the village, a greying man in his 50s who still retained much of the muscle he had developed over the course of his life, had been sharpening a blade when she approached. She had bypassed him nervously, thinking he was merely taking a rest on Kaede's stoop, but when he began to follow her as she made her rounds, she realized he been assigned guard duty.

For the first ten seconds, it had been slightly flattering. After that, it was just down right annoying. She was perfectly capable of walking through the village without getting injured, maimed, or kidnapped. Just because Inuyasha wasn't there did not mean she couldn't defend herself.

The worst part of it, though, had been when she had stumbled on a pile of sticks rounding a house corner and the first thing the man spoke (probably the first time she had _ever_ heard him speak) was, "Are you all right, Lady Ki-gome?"

The glare she had sent him over her shoulder must have did its job; after that, he backed off and started trailing behind her with a wide distance between them. He had skulked off somewhere an hour ago. That suited her just fine.

"What did you find, Suki?" Kagome asked, wiping the sweat from her brow as she approached the group. She felt several small hands latch on to her skirt as the kids crowded near her.

Suki was beside herself with excitement. She grabbed Kagome's hand the moment she came in view and started dragging her and the gaggle of children towards a small deer trail.

"So I know you said to not go too far, but I found this little trail while I was looking for your grass weed and I wanted to see what was down here. Boy, was it a good thing I did because I found something amazing!"

Kagome pulled up short, frowning. Suki at seven was one of the oldest of the group and also the most adventurous. She was always getting into trouble for wandering off. Usually, Kagome was hesitant to reprimand her too harshly—soon enough, she would be joining her brothers on the rice patties, and her adventuring days would be over.

But today was a different story. Just yesterday, the village had been invaded by a witch and the graveyard, one of the most protected areas in the entire village, had been completely destroyed. It was a stark reminder that the forests around the village were far more dangerous than the front yards of present day Tokyo.

"Suki," Kagome said with disapproval, and then a glance at Shippou who was supposed to be helping her watch over the kids. Both he and the little girl flushed.

Shippou kicked his foot and looked up at her with wide, trembling eyes. "I didn't let her go alone! It was just on the ridge over there, still in sight of the house."

Beside him, Suki was nodding vigorously. "I'm sorry, Kagome, I won't do it again. I just wanted to see what was down this trail. There weren't any demons, I promise!"

A few feet a way, the trail opened into a clearing. Looking behind her, Kagome could clearly see the roof of Kaede's hut, still in plain sight. One of the teenage boys assigned to watch them who was leaning heavily against a wood pile, gave her a little wave and went back to his pipe. Sighing, Kagome checked the quiver and arrow she kept habitually on her shoulder.

"All right boys and girls," she said, causing many of the children to yip in delight. She motioned to Suki. "Lead the way."

Fortunately, Suki hadn't been lying when she said their destination was close by. She took the group over to the other side of the clearing, where the nearby river had bled off and created a baby pond. Suki sank to her knees in the bank as Kagome checked that the kids we're clear of the water. She was almost caught off guard when Suki suddenly appeared before her and thrust a flower at her chest.

The other kids oohed and awed as all eyes turned to what the younger girl held in her fist.

"Its a Moon Flower!" Suki exclaimed proudly, then motioned for Kagome to take it from her. After a moment, Kagome hesitantly accepted the delicate blossom into her palm.

It was very beautiful. Probably one of the prettiest flowers she had seen thus far. It had a delicate thin green stalk, bent and frayed where Suki had ripped it from the ground, that rose into five thin curling petals. Sky blue in color, it had speckled brown spots like a bird's egg. Long, yellow tipped stamens protruded proudly from it's center.

Kagome touched a pale blue petal, marvelling at the softness on her finger. It looked to her like a common honeysuckle, but what did she know, she was no plant expert. She was about to praise Suki for her find when Shippou hoped on to her shoulder and scrunched his nose.

"That's not a Moon Flower," he informed Suki importantly.

Suki recoiled as if struck. Her expression was one of betrayal when she turned attention to Shippou. "Y-yes it is! Mom told me stories about what it looks like and it looks just like that!"

Shippou was about to open his mouth to argue when Kagome coughed and nudged him into silence. Turning back to the pouting girl, she smiled kindly. "I've never heard or seen a Moon Flower before," she said. "What does it do?"

With Kagome's attention returned to her, Suki regained the shiny-eyed happiness of before. She clasped her hands together and sighed dramatically. "Mom says that when you pick the petals of this flower and repeat a wish, when the last petal falls your wish will come true!"

Shippou snorted, causing Kagome to nudge him off her shoulder. Geez, that boy was picking up some pretty bad habits from Inuyasha. She returned the flower back to Suki with another smile. "Well, since you found it, Suki it only makes sense that you be the one to make a wish. Go on."

Kagome took a step back as the children gathered around, each trying to get a look and touch the pretty flower. Suki stood in the middle of the crowd preening and beaming and casting smug looks at a sulking Shippou. Kagome shook her head, amused.

She had remembered playing similar games as a child. As a little girl, her grandfather had been the best story teller ever, and she had loved listening about the history of the little charms they kept around the shop. She bet that if she went home and dug around the roots of the Goshinboku, she would find buried Shikon jewel key chains hidden in her old hiding places.

So the Moon Flower, was it. She hadn't heard of that one before. Rubbing her hip idly, she wondered if it was merely a bedtime story told to children or if it had historical significance. Now a days she was more cautious about dismissing superstitions. She had once thought her grandfather's stories were silly tales too, but then the real Shikon jewel popping out of her body had corrected that assumption straight away...

"Miss Kagome!"

Kagome turned around looking back down the path they had come. It was the teenage boy from earlier. He was jogging down the path, eyes squinting around.

"Over here," she called, waving a hand. He pivoted in her direction and as he approached, she blinked to see an expression of relief on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly when he reached out to grab her elbow.

He shook his head. "Nothing at all, miss. Rumors have been flying since the attack on Lady Kikyou's grave, and passer-by are starting to ask questions. With the priestess gone, the headman thought it might be better if you returned to the village."

At her nod, he sighed in relief and let her go. Reaching for the hands of two of the children, he began to lead the way back to the village.

"Shippou, Suki, please grab the little ones." she said, looking around to make sure everyone was accounted for. "Children, make sure your holding someone's-"

A chill shuddered down her spine.

Kagome whirled around instinctually, pushing Toto behind her as she pulled the bow from her shoulder. Her eyes fastened to the other side of the clearing. When nothing stirred in the clearing but the trees in the wind, she slowly released the feathered tip of an arrow and dropped a hand to her side.

None of the children noticed her abrupt cutoff, too busy bickering. Shippou approached her from behind, holding the hand of one of the girls. Noticing her tense stance, he straightened and followed her gaze, nose twitching.

"Kagome?" Shippou asked, tugging on her sock. "What's wrong?"

Not answering, Kagome scanned the edge of the trees with narrowed eyes.

For a moment she had thought she had seen something white fleeing into the woods. For a moment, she had thought she had heard a name.

_Kikyou._


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning: **Graphic violence. Rating upped to R.

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**Along Came a Spider**

_Chapter 2_

* * *

"So you didn't smell anything, Shippou? While we were out there?" Kagome asked, staring a little numbly at the ladle in her hand. She resisted the urge to glance over her shoulder again. One because there was never anyone there. Two because right now, there was definitely no one there, since her back was to a wall. She felt stupid every time she caught herself.

It was late evening but the drapes were drawn over the windows and doorway and the fire flickered across the shadows like the tail of a cat on the hunt. It felt ominous and Kagome had tried busying herself with a textbook for the last hour to distract herself. Unfortunately, not even trigonometric identities could put her to sleep like they usually did. Half an hour ago, she'd given up and started to wash some of the soiled linens Kaede hadn't gotten to washing. Willingly doing dirty laundry-this was clearly a low point in her life.

The little fox shook his head. "Only humans. But the wind was blowing towards us, so I can't really say."

Kagome sighed and leaned forward, feeling the wash of steam on her face as she dumped another bandage into the large cauldron. She kept trying to tell herself it had been nothing but a trick of the wind, or perhaps an animal startled by their presence. But it didn't feel right. She had felt something _wrong_ in her gut, had felt a pair of eyes on the back of her neck that made her want to start shooting arrows randomly at the shadows.

She hadn't had the chance. The teenager who had been escorting her- his name was Kousuke, she remembered now- had come back for her, face worried, and led her by the elbow back down the path. Quite suddenly there had been a group of young teenage men escorting her and the children to the village square. She'd hardly stepped foot on the porch when she'd been all but pushed through Kaede's doors.

Clearly something was going on, but figuring out what was the tricky part. She wasn't sure exactly who had been snooping around that had caused the villagers to clam up like this, but it must have been very suspicious. Mr. Greybeard the huntsman had been posted at her door again, but he sure wasn't talking. When she'd tried to question him, he'd merely grunted, pulled the reed mat closed in her face, and returned to sharpening his sword.

Maybe this was payback for earlier.

Fine. Everyone just loved to keep her in the dark about stuff. First about Kikyou, now about this...clearly they believed she couldn't take care of herself. Which was stupid, because she definitely could. After she was finished washing these linens, she was going to go find her bow...where had she put it again?

Kagome threw the laddle on the floor in frustration.

Shippou approached and touched her knee, his expression troubled. "Are you all right?"

Kagome sighed. "Yes. I'm fine. Just, throwing a tantrum." She gave Shippou a smile and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about it, Ship. I'm sure it was nothing."

The fox didn't look convinced, but then, neither was Kagome. A distraction was necessary.

As the sun began to set and dusk settle in, she and Shippou busied themselves with grinding, boiling, chopping and mixing various ingredients into herbal poultices. This was one of the very first things that Kaede had begun training her in when it was clear that Kagome was going to be sticking around for awhile. At first she hadn't seen much of a point considering she had bandaids and antibacterial just on the other side of the well. It just didn't seem like bloodletting and chants and what ever other hokey medical rituals they used were going to beat out the miracle of painkillers.

But after spending just a few days in the feudal era, Kagome realized a few things. One, Kaede was very dedicated to her job. What she lacked in strength she more than made up for in execution and it was why she was still the priestess of her village at her age and why neighboring villages came to her for wisdom.

Second, Kaede could heal. Not go-to-the-doctor and get a prescription, but real healing. Kaede was an excellent herbalist and knew how to mix tinctures that would combat colds or compresses that could numb pain. Her needle hand was steadier than an oak tree. But her real skill was in feeling out sickness, even before the symptoms showed up. With her at your bedside, you had a better chance to recover. There was an assurance there that made what she did seem...almost magical.

"To heal the wound, you must first heal the soul," Kaede would say and Kagome would laugh nervously because that sounded way too much like her kooky grandfather. But somehow when Kaede said it, it was real. Not the fairytales she listened to during her adolescent bed time, but as real as the demons that prowled outside the village barrier.

Even if it sounded crazy. She flushed a little at what her friends would say if they knew she was sitting her playing witch doctor. It didn't matter that she'd once burned the face off of a centipede demon just by touching it. Spiritual powers? More like a sparkly flame thrower. It had happened to her, and she was still having a hard time believing that one. She'd shoot an arrow and think, was that a trick of the light? A bug in her eye? How could something actually be there when she was just throwing sticks around? Something that powerful should at least require a little effort. Or consciousness of doing it at all.

Not to mention her creepy jewel detecting powers. Ugh.

But Kaede took it seriously. And apparently so did the demons, since they kept dropping like flies when she'd actually manage to hit them. Kagome felt there must be something to it, even if she didn't understand. So these days, when she found herself making friends with a mortar and pestle, Kagome quelled her inner skeptic and thought, Why not? Of all the hokey things she could be doing, healing and herbalism was at the very bottom. It was soothing, honest work and she'd taken a surprising liking to it. Piercing demons with arrows (or getting captured by them) was not involved. She felt useful.

With the fire going, the hut became unbearably hot in a very short amount of time. After an hour, Shippou retreated to the door and lay on his back, panting. Kagome was forced to put her hair up, something she normally hated as there was always twenty or so stray hairs that tried to cling to her neck and choke her. Poking her head with bobby pins was even less amusing. Sometimes, she hated long hair.

"Hey, Kagome?" Shippou asked. He was slowly tracing the patterns on his sleeves with one hand-he did that when he was feeling sleepy. It was kind of adorable.

Kagome sat back on her heels, putting the grinding stone down at her feet and rolling her shoulders. Who knew smashing rocks together would kill her arms?

"What's up?"

"You're not…going anywhere right?"

She dropped her arms, a little shocked. She stared at Shippou, who had turned his back to her and his curled his tail around his body. He seemed to be trembling.

It was only then that she heard the distant rumble of thunder, the sound of a coming storm. In the feudal era, storms seemed to come silently and furiously, torrential rains and winds howling through the valleys, even on plains that had been graced only a few hours ago with sunshine and clouds.

She had thought it curious, another strange oddity of a strange time, until Shippou had joined her and Inuyasha a few weeks back. Now, reflecting on the few times they'd been caught in the rain, she remembered so clearly how Shippou would cling to Inuyasha's pant leg under the dripping trees, silent and pale. How Inuyasha, strangely, would only pat his head and sigh.

She felt her heart clench. Sometimes, she forgot that Shippou was only a small boy. A boy who had watched his father staked, murdered, and skinned by those very demons she sometimes began to doubt when she was at home sitting in the bath tub. That the creatures she knew mostly from stories where in fact the monsters of his dreams.

"Hey, Ship," she cajoled, crawling over to where he lay. When she laid a hand on his shoulder, he turned and launched himself at her stomach. The look on his face, parts misery and shame, made her eyes tear up.

It wasn't fair that he had to suffer this way. That he had to pretend he was all right when nothing in his life would ever be as right as before.

"Hey buddy," she crooned, wrapping her arms around his head. Mostly so he couldn't see the traitorous tear that ran down her cheek. "It'll be all right. Time to water the flowers, that's all."

Shippou sniffled. "I know," he muttered. "I'm not scared."

Kagome shook her head, smiling a little at his stubbornness. "It's okay if you were. It's okay if you aren't too." She rocked him gently. "You know what? I'll tell you a secret. I got scared the first time I heard that thunder rumbling in. I didn't think Kaede's roof could stand up to the storm. Back in my time, there are hardly any storms like this."

Shippou blinked long wet eyelashes at her, a hand rubbing his face. "Really?"

"You bet, kiddo," she said. "In my time, we get baby storms. A little rain here, a little light here and there." She looked up at the ceiling just as a white light flashed through the cracks in the reed mat. "It looks like fireworks," she breathed, closing her eyes. Thunder purred in her ear like a tiger, making her shiver.

Shippou had retreated into her shirt at the light. But he was thinking on her words, brow furrowed. "What's fireworks?" he whispered.

Kagome looked back at the fire, then smiled down at him. "You know your bomb tricks? The ones that blow up with lots of smoke?" At his nod, she pointed a finger at the flames. "Replace that with fire. All kinds of colors. You shoot it in the sky so high that people for miles can see."

Shippou had wiggled upright now, paws braced on her arms. He was frowning down at the flames. "What for?" he asked bewildered.

Kagome paused. "Good question." She laughed. "My father used to say it's a little message. Like a hello to the world."

Her father had actually told her five year old self that fireworks were little flowers that he'd planted on the sky and moon just for her. When she'd argue it was impossible, he'd just laugh and ask her who stole her imagination. She'd turn out just like grandpa if she stopped believing in the impossible.

He used to tell her all kinds of outrageous things.

She missed those outrageous things.

She blinked, surprised at the sudden fierceness of the thought. She hadn't thought of her father in many years-at first it had been too painfully, then too much like disrespect, like disturbing an aching scar. When she looked back at Shippou though, she was even more startled at the deepness in his eyes, ancient and shadowed like the incense burning on a black draped shrine.

He knew. She didn't know how, but he did. For a moment, she was embarrassed. Then, she was only sad.

"Nothing's going to happen to me, Shippou," she said softly, feeling that strange echo when one repeats words they were told long ago. When he nuzzled his nose into the crook of her elbow, she smiled.

A sound came over the heavy fall of rain on stone. Rising over the rumble of the storm, almost hushing it in its climb, the sound was high and cold, like the piercing keen of a bird. She blinked and looked to the door, wondering what it was. It was only after Shippou had stiffened in her arms, eyes wide with something that sent alarms ringing in her head, did the sound lower in pitch. Then she recognized what it was.

It was a scream.

She had only a brief second to look at the terror reflecting in Shippou's face before the roof thumped and then burst as something crashed straight through. Shippou disappeared from her arms. Splintered wood and straw rained down, cutting Kagome's bare legs as she scrambled back. The thing hit the kettle of boiling water, knocking it down to spill steaming on the earth and she heard a child's small yelp.

_Shippou_. At the sound, Kagome jolted from where she had fallen flat on the floor. Her eyes scanned for Shippou but stopped short at the thing now beginning to smoke and writhe at the center of the fire pit, terrible sounds like wet hiccups.

It was a horse. Or it had been a horse, before something huge had bitten into it, tearing away its forelegs and leaving a gleaming rib cage and threads of tissue to hang from its torso. Blood pumped everywhere. White rolling eyes and a foaming mouth twisted, trying to run even as the coals beneath it began to burn through its skin

Kagome scrambled to a corner and threw up. She had thrown up before, the first time when she had watched that centipede monster rip an arm off a man. It didn't matter how many times it had happened, she couldn't get used to it and the bile was always more bitter than before. She heaved, her throat and eyes burning, her hands trembling against the wall, trying not to think of the pulsing flesh where that creature's heart was supposed to be. _Oh god._ Inuyasha. He was gone and she was _still here_!

Behind her, with a final shriek the creature slumped and stilled. Kagome stared blankly at the wall, her chin wet, then whirled around when she finally remembered, _Shippou_.

"Ship," she rasped, stumbling forward. Somehow in the chaos, the reed mat door had torn half off its hinges and there was no one outside the porch. The huntsman was gone.

She found Shippou, hands over his head, pressed flat against a wall with his eyes screwed shut. He was covered in red and her heart jumped straight into her throat. He didn't move, even as she approached, and she had to turn his small shoulders towards her and shake him before he blinked, shuddering. His shirt felt wet and her hands came away with blood. Big red tracks trickled down his face.

"Shippou. Are you hurt?" She didn't know what she was doing. She didn't know if the question mattered, but relief flooded her when he slightly shook his head. Clearly, he was not okay but at least the blood wasn't his.

When he kept shaking his head, lips trembling, she realized he was in shock. She was in shock, but something inside her shrieked that she didn't have time to be.

"Come on. We got to go," she said, numb. Go? Go where? They had to go somewhere.

"Kagome?" he whimpered as she picked him up and stumbled toward the door. She fought with the mat, ripped it the rest of the way down, and took a step out the door.

Her jaw dropped.

Fire. The village was on fire. People were running frantically, cries going up in the dark. Crashes. She saw a building in the far corner give way. Something large stood up from beneath the debris, shaking beams off like a wet dog. Something was in its grip, limp.

When the large shadow seemed to swallow the thing in its hand, Kagome fell to her knees, a faint cry from her lips.

It was a demon. They were attacking!

A cold stab of fear went through her. _Inuyasha. _He was not here! She opened her mouth to scream his name.

A dark shadow peeled away from the clashing of steel and the yelling going on at a nearby hut. She cried again when it began to run towards her. She fell back, head curling over Shippou and arms raised to ward off a blow, only to be wrenched to her feet by her arm.

"What are you doing, fool?" It was the huntsman, and he was furious. "Get back inside unless you want to be noticed!"

She stared into his craggy face. There was a fierce glow in his eyes, reflected by the fire light, and she instinctively clutched his shirt. "There's a horse," she whispered, lips suddenly dry and cracking. She licked them, then winced at the burn of a split lip. How had that happened?

"What?" the man jerked her away from the door, peering into the hut. Cursing, he looked around, and then to her surprise, began to pull her in still.

"No!" she shouted, pulling at his grip. "There is a horse! It's—"

"Shut up!" With a grunt, he threw her through the door and she fell, skidding against the ground. Shippou slipped from her grip, but while she could hardly lift herself to her knees, he had scampered to his feet. He seemed to have regained his senses. She hadn't.

"The horse," she whispered, eyes looking wildly behind her. At the sight of pink flesh and intestines, she whimpered and backed away, only to hit against someone's legs. She looked up to see a disgusted expression on the man's face.

"It's dead," he said. "Get up."

When she only stared at him, he wrenched her to her feet again, causing her to cry out.

"Hey!" It was Shippou. He had wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and was glaring angrily at the man. "What are you doing? You're scaring her!"

"She's not scared enough," the man snarled, turning her around to face him, his hands bruising her arms. "But if she doesn't get her head together, she is going to end up like that!" he pointed at the horse.

Kagome sucked in a breath, almost choking on it. _That_. She was not going to end up like _that_!

Seeing her response, the man's grip listened. "Look at me. Breathe," he instructed, forcing her to keep still even as another crash echoed near by, making her flinch away. She stared into his eyes, black like the shadows, grounding herself until the world stopped shaking. At last, she looked down.

"Good," he said, then let go. Immediately, Shippou scampered to her ankles, his hand finding hers.

Kagome took a deep breath, shuddering. The fear was still there, a thick tight ball in her chest, but it was locked away somewhere deep for the time being. She looked up at the man again, realizing he had probably saved her life. She'd been half way to screaming her head off.

"Thank you," she breathed.

The man ignored her, moving around her to inspect the horse. She watched him, clutching Shippou's hand as he inspected the wound with a careful eye.

"Teeth marks," he murmured, his finger tracing a strange punched hole in the horseflesh. Kagome shuddered when she recognized the shape as something only very large canines could create. Canines as big as her arm.

The man stood up, turning to her. "The barrier is falling," he said. "The smaller demons are making it through, but whatever did this—" he gestured to the horse, "—is sitting out there waiting."

_Huh? _"Barrier?" she stuttered.

"The barrier Lady Kaede erected before she left," he said impatiently, all ready moving towards the door. "You are going to have to fix it. I'll take you to the focus."

Cold sliced through her and she made a strange hiccup. At the sound, the man turned frowning.

"What are you talking about?" Kagome said. "Fix a barrier? I can't do that."

The man's expression turned from confusion to anger. He took a menacing step towards. "What do you mean, you _can't_?" he ground out, a hand falling to a blade she just now noticed was thrust into his sash. "There are people dying out there and you _won't fix the barrier_?"

Shippou yelled something, his hands clutching her socks, but both humans ignored him. Kagome took a step back, shaking her head. "It's not that I won't, it's that I can't!" she replied. "I don't know how!"

The man stopped, his expression cold. "You are a _miko_."

Kagome's lip trembled. Did he mean like Kaede? "No, I am not." _Not really._

"You are the reincarnation of Lady Kikyou," the man bellowed suddenly, causing Kagome to flinch. "You are a miko, even if you are stupid and not half the worth of her soul, and you will _fix this barrier."_

Shame deeper than she had ever known or felt burned through her, but she shook her head. "I don't know _how_."

The man stared at her. With a roar, he turned and pushed over one of the only standing tables, knocking a mortar and pestle to shatter on the ground, the herbs inside scattering over the ground like black mist. She shrunk back against a wall as he approached and punched the empty space beside her head. "You are useless," he seethed, and she felt the truth of it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Tears started to splash down her cheeks.

"Stop yelling at her!" Shippou shouted, trying to get between them. "It's not her fault!"

"Shut up, demon," the huntsman snapped, but he was backing away, trying to visibly calm himself. He rubbed a hand over his face; there was a smear of blood on his forehead.

"What can I do?" she asked, voice dead.

"You can get out of here, that's what you can do," he spat, then breathed again, expression furrowed. He straightened suddenly, looking past her out into the dark.

"We thought they might come again, but not this soon. The forests started going quiet when you came back this morning." He turned to her, seeming to grow taller in the slight glow of dying coals. "We will go to your well. Perhaps the attack will stop when you are safely across."

_But Shippou can't come with me! _The thought was immediately swallowed. It didn't matter if it was true, because the man before her clearly did not care. The accusation that this attack was her fault was clear. Kagome could only nod numbly, trying to wrack her brain. Could Shippou hide in the forest? He had done it before, she thought, feeling heartsick. Perhaps he would be safer if he was away from her too…

At her acquiescence, the man seemed to relax slightly. His hand dropped from his blade and he moved to the doorway, crouching.

"Then let us go now. Where is your bow?"

Kagome blinked. _My bow? _Fear flashed through her and she looked around frantically. At her silence, he whirled around.

When she turned to look at him, eyes wide, he cursed, punching the wall beside him. "You stupid, brainless girl. You will be the death of us all." For a single, terrified moment she thought he was going to storm out and leave them here, but instead he leaned forward and snagged her arm hard, dragging her beside him. Her back hit the wall and she lost her breath, falling into a crouch. Shippou scrambled towards her, shivering, fists bunched in her shirt

"_Always_ keep your weapon at your side," he hissed. "How can you not know that?" As she gasped for air, he leaned down and retrieved a dagger from his boot. The handle was frayed and dark from sweat, but it looked well cared for. The blade shone red as he held it out to her.

"Take it."

In her arms, Shippou shivered. The man didn't seem to have any more patience for her, so she said nothing. She took it clumsily, holding it to her chest. The weight of it was comforting somehow and she took a breath, feeling calmer. The huntsman noticed and nodded grudgingly.

Then he unbuckled his cloak and threw it at her. "Put this on."

She wanted to ask why, but her throat wouldn't open. Only the dagger in her hand felt sure-the rest of her, a house teetering on its last plank. Fingers trembling, she did as she was told. Her finger pricked on the pin, bleeding, but she couldn't feel it. Nothing could be as painfully as what happened to that horse.

"Hold on to me tight, Shippou," she whispered, picking him up and shifting him to her hip as the man turned to look out in the dark. "When I tell you, you need to run."

Shippou started. "I can't leave you," he warbled, tears starting to stream down his face.

"You have to, Shippou," she said gently, touching his hair. "You know you can't come with me. You'll be better off if you run as fast as you can away."

His chin quivered but she knew he understood when he only sniffled and looked down.

"You run when I say. Got it?" When he didn't answer, she turned his face to hers. "Got it?"

At his nod, she let go and turned to the huntsman still scanning the dark. At her movement, he turned back. His expression clearly said he expected the same obedience that she had just asked of Shippou and she nodded.

His expression cleared. "Let's go." Then he charged through the doorway, her stumbling after his heels.

She had seen horrible things in the past months. The centipede demon rampaging through the trees, crushing man and horse. That hair woman Yura, threading skulls through her hair and cutting through flesh, or that mask from the future who ate it. Even Sesshoumaru had been frightening, with his cold alien eyes and disregard for life. But somehow, this…nothing compared to how absolutely terrifying this was right now.

The shadows, the dark. A stranger. _No Inuyasha._ She wanted to sob. She didn't know how much she relied on him to protect her until he was gone.

The village was a flame, dark figures tearing across the main square chasing or being chased. The huntsman veered away from the light, barreling off the well worn paths and into the trees. Kagome ran after him, pulling the cloak tight over her head as it flickered behind her. She nearly ran into the bush, falling forward, feeling the painful scratch of something against her ankles, but she got herself up right and moving.

The huntsman was ahead of her, sword out and slashing at obstacles, his gaze constantly flicking to the moon. After several course adjustments, Kagome realized he was using it to determine their direction. After awhile, she began to notice familiar shapes; a tree branch, a trail cut a certain way. And then, in the distance, the dark shadow of a vast tree. The Goshinboku.

_Almost there_, she thought, adjusting her dagger in her sweaty grip. She felt Shippou's cold nose in her collarbone. _We are going to make it!_

The huntsman ducked under a low hanging tree, rolling out into a wide worn pathway. Relieved, she took step forwards, then was jerked to a stop, the cloak choking her. She turned, finding it snagged on a small branch.

No! Why was this happening now?

"Kagome, he's getting farther away!" Shippou whispered in her neck.

Gritting her teeth, she gathered the fabric and pulled. The branch resisted. Shifting her feet, she grabbed the cloak with both hands and wrenched.

The branch let go. She had only a moment to be relieved before the momentum carried them through the brush to land hard on the dirt road. Shippou rolled from her grip as she smacked her arm, then her shoulder before coming to a stop on her stomach. The knife skidded out of her grip, disappearing into the grass as dust rushed through her nose, making her wheeze.

Panting, she pushed her stringy hair from her face. "Shippou, you ok—" her words strangled off.

There, maybe ten feet away from her, stood the huntsman. His back to her, feet spread apart, he held his thin katana two handed, the blade gleaming white under the moon. Before, him pacing slowly with blinking red eyes, was a demon.

It was enormous, standing at least as tall as a two story building. Skin a putrid green rippled and shifted over thick muscles. It's face was hideous. Slitted eyes, thick curling horns, and a cone-like muzzle above a thousand sharp pointy teeth. Two of them curled over its large lip, dripping something dark and wet. They were as big as her arm.

Looks like the barrier had completely fallen.

The huntsman's silver hair glinted as cold as his blade as he faced the monster. She couldn't see his face, but she knew what she would find there. The expression of a man facing down death and determined to live through it.

But he was not Inuyasha.

"No!" she screeched when the demon tensed to move. "It will kill you!"

Her throat closed up when the demon swiveled its great head towards her, nostrils flaring.

"Kagome!" Her head whipped up to see the huntsman turned to her. Her eyes met his, cold and black like a Tokyo night. No, she had been wrong. He was not determined to live through this.

He was determined _she_ would live through this.

His lips mouthed the word, "Run." Then he turned and ran at the creature with a warrior's cry.

Behind her, she heard the scrabble of little claws and then a pouf of sound. But she could not move. She _could not_.

"No!" she shrieked, watching in horror as the demon cocked its head. Its arm flew up, too fast to see, and slashed.

The man faltered, then stopped. His sword dropped, his arms falling to his knees.

Then, like a house of cards, he fell into little pieces.

She screamed. She screamed and screamed, until something welled within her like a raging ocean, the world becoming hazy and everything seeming to glow. There was a sizzling in her ears. The demon cried out, its arms coming up to shield its face, even as its skin began to burn and slough off like cooked meat, and still she screamed, her eyes on the huntsman as if he might get up again.

A sharp crack ripped through the air, cutting Kagome off, her throat choking on spit. Suddenly, there was a fist in her hair as something jerked her from the ground and flipped her harshly onto her back.

A white figure was standing over her. A gray face, vaguely primate, with empty black sockets stared at her. There was something underneath it. A man. He was smiling, his teeth as white and dazzling as moonlight, gesturing to something at her feet.

Trembling, Kagome followed the long line of his arm to see that he was in fact pointing at her leg.

Her leg, turned at a sickening angle, so clearly broken by his heel.

The shocking site seemed to jerk through Kagome, causing her to lose her grip on the frothing sea within her. And with the ebb of it, came _pain_, then—

Nothing.

She dreamed that she felt a touch of fingers on her cheek, almost gentle.


End file.
